Back Through Time

by Alestorm

Overview

Back Through Time is the third studio effort from self-styled "pirate metal" outfit Alestorm. The Scottish four-piece specialize in mixing traditional power metal with traditional folk instruments, sea shanty-style melodies, and buccaneering imagery, and Back Through Time continues on where the 2009 breakthrough album Black Sails at Midnight left off. As befits a group who dress in full pirate regalia and sing about imagined adventures on the high seas, they're not lacking in humor or self-awareness. The title track kicks the album off with frenetic DragonForce-style riffing and a yarn about a pirate ship sent back to a time when Vikings ruled the seas: "You put your faith in Odin and Thor/We put ours in cannons and whores/Your Viking gods won't save you now/When pirates strike from the starboard bow." "Scraping the Barrell" cleverly mixes pirate imagery with sardonic meta-analysis, keenly aware that their style of music isn't seen to have much of a shelf life: "There are no more tales to be told/No more stories of battles of old/Now it seems our journey has come to an end/We are scraping the barrel, my friend." The catchiest track on the record, "The Sunk'n Norwegian," is a straight-up drinking song built on a whistle and accordion melody, while the deluxe edition of the album features a cover of "You Are a Pirate" from the children's TV show Lazy Town. Back Through Time offers little stylistic variation on its predecessors -- and in that sense the band could be seen as "scraping the barrel" -- however, the energy and vitality that the group bring to their unique corner of the metal world, along with a handful of contagious melodies, ensure that Back Through Time registers as the Perth act's strongest and most consistent record to date. ~ Dave Donnelly

Product Details

Release Date:	05/17/2024
Label:	Napalm
UPC:	0885470002415

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Alestorm   Primary Artist
Peter Alcorn   Percussion,Drums
Maria Odvody   Violin
Daniel Evans   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Christopher Bowes   Vocals,Keyboards
Heri Joensen   Soloist
Gareth Murdock   Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background)
Tobias Hain   Trumpet
Brenden Casey   Vocals (Background)
Lasse Lammert   Soloist,Vibraslap
Ken Sorceron   Vocals
Derek Fobaire   Trombone
Florian Frambach   Trumpet

Technical Credits

Tim Shaw   Composer
Stan Rogers   Composer
Chris Boltendahl   Composer
Peter Alcorn   Group Member,Composer
Paul Templing   Arranger
Daniel Evans   Group Member
Christopher Bowes   Composer,Group Member
Gareth Murdock   Group Member
Ingo Roemling   Artwork
Gordon Krei   Programming,Orchestral Arrangements
Johannes Bouwens   Composer
Ben Turk   Arranger
Alan Carr   Composer
Lasse Lammert   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Mastering
Audrey Dujardin   Photography
Mani Svavarsson   Composer
Ken Pontac   Composer
Lord Jaldaboath   Narrator